“The Power of Leadership”

More from Guest author, Mick Koster of Strategic Partners, Inc.  If you enjoy Mick’s “Thoughts” or are in Non-Profit leadership yourself, you should read his BLOG located at http://mickkoster.wordpress.com. 

How Do You Describe Your Work?

When people are asked “What do you do?” they generally respond by naming their employer.  “I work for the bank”  “I work at a CPA firm.”  “I’m just a teacher.”

We might even try to get fancy and describe our title, “I’m the Chief Process Engineer and Senior Vice President of Workforce Development at an International Financial Services Corporation.”  Huh?

These are quick and easy responses, but they doesn’t really answer the question.

That’s because something strange that happens after your put a title on a business card.  Soon, you start considering yourself constrained by a box; part of a bureaucracy, beholden to a budget passed by a Board, and now all you have left to do is belly-ache about why you’re constantly banging on doors for bucks for budgets.

Get out of this mindset, and ask yourself, “What objective am I here to achieve?”  Be careful, we’re not talking about accomplishing tasks.  We’re talking about achieving objectives.

Then, you’re no longer just a banker.  You help people protect, preserve, and invest your clients’ wealth in order to accomplish their financial goals.  You’re not an Accountant, you help businesses strategically manage their resources in order to maximize profits.  And there’s no such thing as “just a teacher.”  You educate children so they can reach their full potential.

Try this out for your own specific career.  Don’t worry about the tasks you have to accomplish every day.  Concentrate on describing the objectives you’re producing.  And if you have to remove the title from your business card to accomplish this, so be it!

 “Leadership is the challenge to be something more than average.” – Jim Rohn

Have a great day!

Shawn

Russ M. Miller, LLIF – Chairman & CEO
Performance Institute (Human Capital Development)
Global CEO Academy (Management Training)
Sunny Hong Zhang – Managing Partner – China
Shawn M. Miller – Managing Partner – USA

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